Letter and package mail-box.



I C; OHLSON. LETTER AND PACKAGE MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION nun NOV. 30, 1910.

1,014,508. Patented Jan.9,1912.

WITNESSES} INVEIIVYTUR' Gfl/MOHLSON r By 1 ATTORNEH? G. OHLSON. LETTERAN-D PACKAGE MAIL BOX. APP-LIOATION FILED NOV. 30, 1910.

Patented Jan. 9, 191 2.

2 sums-sum 2.

' .9 70 g V 8 ll it. WITNESSES: @14 INVENTOR Arrow/Isis To all whom t may concern:

a perspective view oi chm. on'nson, or SACRAMENTO, oamronnm.

LETTER- gAIN'D EACKAGE MAIL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 9, 1912.

Application ans Ncwemher' so, 1am... semi No. 594,972.

Be it known that I, CARL Omson, a citizen of theUnited States, and aresident' of Sacramento, in the county of Sacramento and State otCalifoi-nia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Letter-and PackageMail-Boxes, of which the following is a specification. L

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in combined letter and packagemail boxes, this invention being an improvement over. that disclosed in my prior Patent #922,181of May 18, 1909..

In the prior patent, above referredto, I disclosed a mail box, which could beclos'ed into a small space, a'ndiwhich when closed was designed to be used ior'the reception of letters. This mail box was so constructed that it could be unfolded so aslto' provide a larger receptacle. for packages. Means were provided for retaining the box in its unfolded position for receiving pack;

ages.

provide novel means for causing the box to spring open from its closed position. This- I accomplish by means of a catch and a spring bottom member, so that when the catch is operated it permits the spring bottom member to force the sidesaoutwardly.

This catch, it may be stated, can be operated by one hand. a

A further object otmy invention is to provide, a novel form of lock for-retaining the box in its opened and extended position.

and for releasingdt when it is desired to close it into its compact form.

A further objectlgf my invention is to provide a novel cover'which will be auto matically locked whenbrought into position, but which may into a slide at the back of the box, where it is completely out of the way.

Other objects and advantages will appear inthe following specification and the novel [features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings forming part of th s ap-' plication in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the'box extended for receiving packages, Fig. 2 is receiv ng letters, a door of the box being open, Fig. dis a vertical section from front to rear throughthe extended box,.F1g-. 4 1s object of the present invention is to:

be released and loweredthe box folded for a horizontal section along the line. 4-4: of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 1s a vertical sectionsimilar to Fig. 3, showingthe boxinits closed. posit1on, and Fig. 6 1s a horizontal section along the line 64-63 of Fig.1 5.

In carryin out my invention, I employ a back 1 which is" provided with laterally and inwardly turned side flanges 1 and" 1 and a bottom fiange'lfi The space between the flanges- 1, 1 and 1?.forms a runway for a 'slidable cover 14, which will be hereinafter described.

The front of the box consists of an outer portion 3 having-a hinged. door 3 and an inner partition 4. Thespa'cebetween the outer and inner members Band 4 constitutes the receptacle for letters. The members 3 and 4'are joinedat their ends by the walls 5' and .6 (see Figs. 4 and 6). Between the back and the member 4 are the hinged folding sidemembers 7 and 8 on-one side and -9 and 10 onthe other side.

The side mem bers' 7 and 8 are hinged together so that they may j fold inwardly, as are zalso the side members 9"and .10. In Fig. 4, I ha've shown the bottom-member 11, which is hinged at 12, and which is provided with a spring 13, which tends to .force the bottom outwardly from the back 1.

.InQFig. 5, I'have shown the normal posi- Y tion of the slidable cover 14.. This cover,.as

it will be observed, has an inwardly and upwardly turned .fiange -.14 at one end,

which is arranged to engage the outwardly and downwardly turned flange 1 as shown in Fig. 3, when the cover is in position. The

edge of the cover 14opp osite the flange 14 is provided with a laterally and downwardly turned flange 14 (see Fig. 5) .and'with 'a" The means for locking the box in its closedloo and opened positions are as follows: In Fig.

5, I have shown a catch, which consists of a leaf spring QOihaving a shoulder 20? and a thumb piece 2O adjacent thereto- It will .be seen that when the box is collapsed or in its closed position this spring holds the bottom portion of the box from outward movement. The top portion of the letter box' is held by means of the flange 14 of the slidable plate 14, as shown in Fig. 5.

On the opposite side of the partition 4, I mount a lever 21. The upper end of this lever is bent into the form of a hook 21 which is arranged to project through an opening 22 in the member 4. The lower end of the lever 21 is bent laterally at 21 and projects through an opening 23 and is provided with a curved thumb piece 21% This lever is normally pushed inwardly at its lower end by means of a leaf spring 24. In Fig. 2, the end 21 of the lever 21 is shown extending through the opening 23. A stop 25 is pivoted on the partition 4, and is arrangedv to extend between the thumb piece 21 and the partition 4, to hold the lower end of the lever 21 in an outward position, as shown in Fig. 5. The upper end of the lever 21 will, therefore, be swung inwardly.

At 26, I have shown flanges provided with openings 26 for the reception of hooks for.

suspending the box. I may use as many of these flanges as is necessary.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation thereof maybe readily understood. The normal position of the box is that shown in Fig. 5.

In this position the box is in a compact form, and may be used for letters. In Fig. 2, I have shown the box in its closed position for the reception of letters only. The postman generally has one hand full of mail, which he is assorting as he delivers it, the other hand being free. It is only necessary for him to push on the lid 16, which will swing inwardly to permit the deposit of the letter in the space between the front 3 and the partition 4. Of course, the door is supposed to be closed, as shown in Fig. 1. In its closed position, as shown in Fig. 2, the box is compact, and presents the appearance of the ordinary mail box. 1 Now, when the postman brings a package, he pushes downwardlyon the thumb piece 20", which, as shown in Fig. 2, is marked Push, thereby releasing the bottom of the collapsible box. He then pulls upwardly on the finger hold 15, which, as shown in Fig.- 2, is marked Pull, thereby disengaging the flange 14 (see Fig. 5) and permitting the top of the box to be free. The spring 13, which actuates the bottom 11 will now cause the latter to swing downwardly and. to push the box into its extended position, shown in Fig. 4. The outward movement of theibox may be assisted by'pulling outwardly on the pro- I downwardly,

it pushes the lever 21 outwardly against the'action of the spring 24, and as soon as it clears it, the spring brings the part 21 of the lever over the end of the bottom, as shown in Fig. 8, thereby locking the bottom in position. The cover 14 is now raised vertically in its run-way as far as it will go, and then is swung over the top of the box and pressed downwardly. The flange 14 moves the end 21 inwardly, but the end 21 immediately springs over the flange, shown in Fig. 3, thereby locking the cover. It will be remembered that these operations may be conducted with one hand. Xow, when the occupant of the house wants to get his mail he unlocks the door, removes the letters and pulls forwardly on the thumb piece 21 The upper end of the lever swings inwardly, thereby permitting him to open the cover 14 and take out the package. By merely closing the cover down again, it will remain locked. If the occupant wishes to fold the box, he pulls forwardly on the finger piece 21 thereby unlocking the cover, which he raises, and drops in the run-way behind the box,-he then pushes upwardly on wardly on the outer letter box until the shoulder 2O of the spring 20 engages the lower part of the box, as shown in Fig.5. The upper part of the box is locked by raising the cover slightly, and allowing the flanged portion 14 to engage the top of the partition 4, as shown in Fig. 5, when the box is in its original condition.

If the occupant of the house should be away for any length of time, and wishes to leave the cover 14 unlocked so as to receive packages when the box is in its extended position, he pulls forwardly on the thumb piece 21 (see Fig. 2) and swings the stop 25 between the thumb piece and the partition 4, as shown in Fig. 5. The end 21 of the lever 21 is thus out of the way of the flange 14 of the cover, so that the latter can be raised at any time by the postman.

It will be seen that I have provided a novel device in which the box can readily be changed from one form into the other by the'use of only one hand, and that the devices for lockin the box in both positions are simple-and e ective.

I claim h 1. In a combined letter and package mail box, a back having a run-way, a cover slidably carried in said run-way, collapsible sides adapted to be extended, a spring-controlled bottom pivotally secured at its rear edge, a front portion pivotally secured to the sides, said slid'able cover being adapted to extend over the top of the box, and means for locking the cover to the top of the box when the latter is in its extended position.. I

2. In a combined letter and package mail box, a back having, a run-way, a cover slidably carried in said run-iway, collapsible sides adapted to be extended,-a spring-controlled bottom pivotally secured at its rear the bottom 11, at the same time-pushing inedge,.a front portion pivotally secured to thesides, said slidable cover. being adapted to extend over the top of the box in its extended position, and means'carried by saidfront portion for locking said bottom and said cover in the extended position of the In a combined letter and package mail box, aback having a run-way, a cover slid ably carried in said run-way, collapsible side's,-a spring-controlled bottom pivotally secured at its rear edge, a front portion pivotally secured to the sides, and a spring actuated lever carried by said front portion provided with abent portion at each end,- one of said bent portions being arranged to' engage the cover to. lock it in position and [the other bent portionbeing arranged to enactuate lever carried by said front portiongage'the bottom tolock it in position.

4. In a combined letter and package mail box, a back having a run-way, a cover slidably carried in said run-way, collapsible sides, a spring-controlled bottom pivotally secured at its rear edge, a front portion pivotall secured to the sides, and a spring provided with a bent portion at each end, one of said bent portions being arranged to project through an opening in said front portion and to engagethe cover for locking the latter in position, and the second bent portion being arranged to extend through an opening in the front portion and being provided with a thumb piece for moving the lever against the spring, said second bent portionbeing. arranged to extend over the spring bottom 'for retaining the latter in position.

5. In a combined letter and package mail box, a back; having a run-way, a coverslid- -ably carried in said run-way, collapsible sides, a spring-controlled bottom pivotally secured at its rear edge,'a frontiportion piv.

otally secured to the sides, a spring actuated lever carried by said front portion provided with a bent portion at each end, one" of said bent portions being arranged to project through an opening 'in said front portion and to engage the cover for locking the latter in position, and the second bent portion being arranged to extend through an opening in the front portion and being provided with a thumb piece for moving the lever against the spring, said second bent portion being arranged to extend over the spring bottom for'retaining the latter in position, and a stop member carried by said front portion and adapted to engage said thumb piece for holding the ends of said lever out of engagement with said top and's'aid bottom members. w 6. In a combined letter and package mail box, a back-having a run-way, a cover slidably carried in saidirun way, collapsible sides, a springfcontrolled bottom' pivotally the box to hold the latter in. place in its closed position.

- CARL OHLSON. Witnesses i L. A. STANLEY,

SoLoN C, KEMON. 

